WO2011008861A2 - Clavier comprenant des commutateurs de balayage exécutant des actions de clavier - Google Patents

Clavier comprenant des commutateurs de balayage exécutant des actions de clavier Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2011008861A2
WO2011008861A2 PCT/US2010/041979 US2010041979W WO2011008861A2 WO 2011008861 A2 WO2011008861 A2 WO 2011008861A2 US 2010041979 W US2010041979 W US 2010041979W WO 2011008861 A2 WO2011008861 A2 WO 2011008861A2
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
swipe
keyboard
switch
switches
ambiguous
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Application number
PCT/US2010/041979
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English (en)
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WO2011008861A3 (fr
Inventor
Howard Gutowitz
Original Assignee
Eatoni Ergonomics, Inc
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Publication date
Application filed by Eatoni Ergonomics, Inc filed Critical Eatoni Ergonomics, Inc
Priority to US13/384,314 priority Critical patent/US9189156B2/en
Publication of WO2011008861A2 publication Critical patent/WO2011008861A2/fr
Publication of WO2011008861A3 publication Critical patent/WO2011008861A3/fr
Priority to US29/411,834 priority patent/USD706296S1/en

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Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F3/00—Input arrangements for transferring data to be processed into a form capable of being handled by the computer; Output arrangements for transferring data from processing unit to output unit, e.g. interface arrangements
    • G06F3/01—Input arrangements or combined input and output arrangements for interaction between user and computer
    • G06F3/048—Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI]
    • G06F3/0487—Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI] using specific features provided by the input device, e.g. functions controlled by the rotation of a mouse with dual sensing arrangements, or of the nature of the input device, e.g. tap gestures based on pressure sensed by a digitiser
    • G06F3/0488—Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI] using specific features provided by the input device, e.g. functions controlled by the rotation of a mouse with dual sensing arrangements, or of the nature of the input device, e.g. tap gestures based on pressure sensed by a digitiser using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
    • G06F3/04886—Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI] using specific features provided by the input device, e.g. functions controlled by the rotation of a mouse with dual sensing arrangements, or of the nature of the input device, e.g. tap gestures based on pressure sensed by a digitiser using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F3/00—Input arrangements for transferring data to be processed into a form capable of being handled by the computer; Output arrangements for transferring data from processing unit to output unit, e.g. interface arrangements
    • G06F3/01—Input arrangements or combined input and output arrangements for interaction between user and computer
    • G06F3/02—Input arrangements using manually operated switches, e.g. using keyboards or dials
    • G06F3/0202—Constructional details or processes of manufacture of the input device
    • G06F3/0219—Special purpose keyboards
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F3/00—Input arrangements for transferring data to be processed into a form capable of being handled by the computer; Output arrangements for transferring data from processing unit to output unit, e.g. interface arrangements
    • G06F3/01—Input arrangements or combined input and output arrangements for interaction between user and computer
    • G06F3/02—Input arrangements using manually operated switches, e.g. using keyboards or dials
    • G06F3/023—Arrangements for converting discrete items of information into a coded form, e.g. arrangements for interpreting keyboard generated codes as alphanumeric codes, operand codes or instruction codes
    • G06F3/0233—Character input methods
    • G06F3/0235—Character input methods using chord techniques
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F3/00—Input arrangements for transferring data to be processed into a form capable of being handled by the computer; Output arrangements for transferring data from processing unit to output unit, e.g. interface arrangements
    • G06F3/01—Input arrangements or combined input and output arrangements for interaction between user and computer
    • G06F3/02—Input arrangements using manually operated switches, e.g. using keyboards or dials
    • G06F3/023—Arrangements for converting discrete items of information into a coded form, e.g. arrangements for interpreting keyboard generated codes as alphanumeric codes, operand codes or instruction codes
    • G06F3/0233—Character input methods
    • G06F3/0237—Character input methods using prediction or retrieval techniques
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F3/00—Input arrangements for transferring data to be processed into a form capable of being handled by the computer; Output arrangements for transferring data from processing unit to output unit, e.g. interface arrangements
    • G06F3/01—Input arrangements or combined input and output arrangements for interaction between user and computer
    • G06F3/03—Arrangements for converting the position or the displacement of a member into a coded form
    • G06F3/033—Pointing devices displaced or positioned by the user, e.g. mice, trackballs, pens or joysticks; Accessories therefor
    • G06F3/0354—Pointing devices displaced or positioned by the user, e.g. mice, trackballs, pens or joysticks; Accessories therefor with detection of 2D relative movements between the device, or an operating part thereof, and a plane or surface, e.g. 2D mice, trackballs, pens or pucks
    • G06F3/03547—Touch pads, in which fingers can move on a surface
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F3/00—Input arrangements for transferring data to be processed into a form capable of being handled by the computer; Output arrangements for transferring data from processing unit to output unit, e.g. interface arrangements
    • G06F3/01—Input arrangements or combined input and output arrangements for interaction between user and computer
    • G06F3/048—Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI]
    • G06F3/0487—Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI] using specific features provided by the input device, e.g. functions controlled by the rotation of a mouse with dual sensing arrangements, or of the nature of the input device, e.g. tap gestures based on pressure sensed by a digitiser
    • G06F3/0488—Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI] using specific features provided by the input device, e.g. functions controlled by the rotation of a mouse with dual sensing arrangements, or of the nature of the input device, e.g. tap gestures based on pressure sensed by a digitiser using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
    • G06F3/04883—Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI] using specific features provided by the input device, e.g. functions controlled by the rotation of a mouse with dual sensing arrangements, or of the nature of the input device, e.g. tap gestures based on pressure sensed by a digitiser using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04M1/00—Substation equipment, e.g. for use by subscribers
    • H04M1/02—Constructional features of telephone sets
    • H04M1/23—Construction or mounting of dials or of equivalent devices; Means for facilitating the use thereof
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04M2250/00—Details of telephonic subscriber devices
    • H04M2250/22—Details of telephonic subscriber devices including a touch pad, a touch sensor or a touch detector
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04M2250/00—Details of telephonic subscriber devices
    • H04M2250/70—Details of telephonic subscriber devices methods for entering alphabetical characters, e.g. multi-tap or dictionary disambiguation

Definitions

  • swipe controls include variable capacitors and resistors which change their capacitance, respectively resistance as a knob is turned.
  • Another non- limiting example of a swipe control is a computer mouse: as the mouse is moved a cursor on the screen moves.
  • swipe controls a physical motion along some path is transformed into the continuous adjustment of some property or signal.
  • a switch by contrast, transforms a physical action into a binary state change or signal.
  • a non- limiting example of a switch is the familiar electric switch for turning a light on and off.
  • the present disclosure provides for an ambiguous keyboard comprising at least two switches for performing keyboard actions, at least one of the two switches being a swipe-switch.
  • the swipe switch can alter at least one characteristic selected from a group including: a) a function of at least one switch of the at least two switches of the ambiguous keyboard; and b) a mode of a second swipe-switch of the ambiguous keyboard.
  • the ambiguous keyboard further comprises: a hold areas, which, when used in conjunction with the at least one swipe-switch, perform a hold action for the swipe-switch, forming a swipe-switch-old control.
  • the keyboard is responsive to two or more different kind of swipes.
  • the different kinds of swipes include at least one of: a linear swipe; an open arc; a path curved on itself; a zig-zag curve; a pull apart swipe; and a two finger swipe wherein fingers move along parallel lines opposite each other.
  • An entire surface of the keyboards is sensitive to a plurality of swipes, wherein the swipe is one of the plurality of swipes.
  • the plurality of swipes can overlap a same key area.
  • a space bar of the keyboard is replaced by the swipe-switch.
  • the keyboard comprises three swipe-switches, wherein the three swipe- switches are all responsive to upwards swipes.
  • the swipe-switch is at least one of between a row of keys of the keyboard; and between a column of keys of the keyboard.
  • the swipe-switch is at a border of the keyboard.
  • the swipe- switch is one of the plurality of swipes .
  • the keyboard comprises a plurality of swipe-switches, wherein the swipe-switches can be used as described selected from the group comprising at least one of: a) activated in combination; b) activated simultaneously; and c) activated sequentially, to represent actions distinct from an action represented from actions associated with each of the plurality of swipe-switches.
  • the keyboard can employ a Qwerty layout.
  • the swipe-switch is useable as a lockable and holdable meta-key.
  • the lockable and holdable meta-key is at least one selected from a group comprising: an end of set (EOS) lock; and an EOS hold.
  • the keyboard is an ambiguous keyboard.
  • the keyboard is coupled to an iPod ®.
  • an activation mechanism of the keyboard determines a swipe bath through employment a distance from a received swipe to a predefined line.
  • the distance can be computed with an employment of a calculation concerning an inverse square of a distance from the received swipe to the predefined line.
  • the ambiguous keyboard includes exactly four keys.
  • a keyboard comprises four quadrants, wherein a plurality of keys are assigned to a given quadrant of each quadrant, and wherein two thumbs are employable at a same time to select a key from each of the four quadrants.
  • the letter "s" can be assigned to a third quadrant of the keyboard.
  • one thumb is used to select a letter.
  • the present disclosure provides a method, comprising: selecting a keyboard design into which at least on swipe-switch is to be incorporated; selecting a subset of keys from the keyboard to be replaced by at least one swipe-switch; and replacing the subset of keys from the keyboard with the at least one swipe-switch.
  • the method determines in a first decision if any of the subset of keys are at least one of: a) a shift key; and b) a lock key.
  • the method can further include determining in a second decision if the subset keys are to be replaced by a functional switch-swipe, including at least one of: a) a swipe-switch hold; and b) a swipe-switch lock; and c) an EOS variant of the s swipe-switch hold or the swipe-switch lock.
  • the functional switch-type is replaced with at least one of: a) a swipe-switch hold; and b) a swipe-switch lock; c) an EOS variant of the swipe-switch hold or the swipe-switch lock.
  • a yet still further aspect provides a system, comprising: a keyboard, and a first swipe-switch and a second swipe-switch included within the keyboard; wherein the first swipe-switch is configured to interact with a second swipe-switch of the keyboard, wherein a characteristic of a key of the keyboard is altered due to the interaction.
  • the characteristics can be altered is a change of a function of the key.
  • a keyboard system comprises an activation mechanism; and a keyboard coupled to the activation mechanism; wherein: a) the keyboard is configured to receive a swipe; and b) the activation mechanism is configured to compare the received swipe to a plurality of ideal swipes to calculate a calculated swipe. At least one of the ideal swipes can be an up and down motion.
  • Fig. 1 Illustrative types of swipes.
  • FIG. 2 An illustrative keyboard comprising a swipe-switch
  • FIG. 3 An illustrative keyboard comprising a swipe-switch overlapping to the key area.
  • FIG. 4 An illustrative keyboard comprising two different types of swipe-switches overlapping the key area.
  • FIG. 5 An illustrative keyboard comprising a plurality of swipe-switches of the same type overlapping the key area.
  • FIG. 6 An illustrative keyboard comprising several pluralities of swipe-switches of different types.
  • FIG. 7 An illustrative keyboard comprising swipe-switches at the border of the keyboard.
  • FIG. 8 An illustrative keyboard comprising swipe-switches between rows and columns of keys and within rows and columns of keys.
  • FIG. 9 An illustrative keyboard comprising multiple swipe-switches used in conjunction with each other.
  • FIG. 10 An illustrative keyboard comprising a swipe-switch-hold control.
  • FIG. 11 An illustrative keyboard comprising swipe-switches that emulates a full desktop keyboard.
  • FIG. 12 An illustrative keyboard comprising swipe-switches and an ambiguous keyboard.
  • FIG. 13 An illustrative keyboard comprising swipe-switches and color coding of switch states.
  • FIG. 14 An illustrative keyboard comprising a swipe control, switches and swipe- switches.
  • FIG. 15 An illustrative keyboard comprising a swipe control, switches, swipe- switches, and an ambiguous keyboard.
  • Fig. 16 Second-stroke letter assignments for the illustrative keyboard of Fig. 15.
  • Fig. 17 A keyboard incorporating a fixed set of swipe-switches, and alternate keyboard arrays.
  • Fig. 18 A method for designing a keyboard comprising swipe-switches from a keyboard comprising switches.
  • Fig. 19 A method for using a keyboard comprising swipe-switches.
  • FIG. 20 An overview of an apparatus incorporating swipe-switches performing keyboard actions.
  • FIG. 21 An overview of hardware aspects.
  • Fig. 22 A method for manufacturing a keyboard comprising swipe-switches.
  • Fig. 23 Interaction of memory, processors, activation mechanisms, keyboard, and swipe classifiers.
  • Fig 24 An embodiment 4-square with multi-level code- with swipe switches.
  • FIG.24 An embodiment of FIG .24 with S in a selected place that should be familiar to a telephone operator.
  • Fig 26 An embodiment of a two-simultaneous-stroke, 4-square keyboard (abc.jkl with one stroke, the others with 2 simultaneous strokes),
  • Fig 28 An embodiment of Punctuation mode for Fig 26.
  • Fig. 1 we see a collection of illustrative swiping motions to which a swipe-switch might be made responsive. It should be noted that these motions are schematically represented in Fig. 1. In practice the motions would be performed typically by a human being, with some error and inaccuracy. Real-world embodiments of machines based on the present teachings would need to account for these errors and inaccuracies so that actual human swipes are effective to cause the desired response from the machine.
  • the first swipe is a simple linear swipe, shown in Fig. IA.
  • This swipe begins at some point, proceeds linearly in some direction, and ends.
  • Fig. IB is similar, but the path is curved in an open arc.
  • Fig. 1C is also a curved path, but closed on itself.
  • Fig. ID is a zig-zag curve.
  • Fig. IE is a "pull apart" swipe made with two fingers or thumbs moving away from each other, or alternatively towards each other (not shown).
  • Fig. IF shows another two-finger swipe in which the fingers move alone parallel lines, opposite each other.
  • swipe controls and switches There is an important asymmetry between swipe controls and switches.
  • a single swipe control can be used to partially emulate a switch, but a single switch cannot be used to emulate a swipe control.
  • a light could be set to be switched on and off in response to a swipe, such as the motion of a finger over a certain distance on a capacitive film, but a single switch cannot be used to control arbitrary continuous motion of a cursor across a screen.
  • a switch can be used to enter a state and stay in that state for a user-selected amount of time. For instance, a switch can be set to turn on a light while pressed, keep it on as long as the switch is pressed, and to turn the light off when the switch is released.
  • a switch such as the space bar on a keyboard can be set to enter a space symbol when it is pressed, and to keep on entering space symbols for as long as the space bar is held down.
  • a swipe by contrast, cannot be continued indefinitely. It happens for a typically brief amount of time, and then it is over.
  • swipe control which is used as a switch a swipe-switch.
  • a swipe-switch by itself is less powerful than either a swipe control or a regular switch.
  • a swipe control is more complex than a switch, thus a swipe control is harder to make and use than a switch, but it has the advantage of being able to control a continuously variable quantity.
  • a switch has an advantage over a swipe control in that it can set a single state for a user-controllable amount of time.
  • a simple swipe-switch is less powerful than either a swipe control or a switch, since unlike a swipe control, a simple swipe-switch cannot by itself control any continuously varying quantity, and unlike a switch, it cannot activate a state for a user-controllable amount of time. Therefore, to persons of average skill in the art, an easy-to-use swipe-switch is an oxymoron, making it perversely counter-intuitive for them to use a swipe-switch in any context in which a switch would be easy for an intended user to use, unless they intended to make the switch difficult to activate.
  • Swipe controls and swipe-switches respond to swipes.
  • swipes may be of various recognizable "types" depending on the shape of the path taken during the swipe.
  • an apparatus incorporating swipe- sensitive elements will comprise a swipe classifier capable of classifying an input into one of the available swipe types. The number of different types which can be recognized depends on properties of the hardware, and of the classifier.
  • a swipe classifier can be constructed to classify swipes not just by the shape of their path, but also by the location of the path. Thus, for instance, we could classify two linear paths in the same direction, but displaced from one another to be of the same type in terms of the shape of their path, but different in terms of their location.
  • the resolution of the classifier in both spatial displacement and in the space of path shapes is generally both hardware and software dependent.
  • An illustrative keyboard comprising a swipe-switch
  • Fig. 2 we see an illustrative embodiment comprising a keyboard [200] in which the normal space bar is replaced by a swipe-switch [201].
  • the swipe-switch [201] performs in part the same action that the switch it replaces did, namely, to enter the space symbol.
  • the swipe-switch [201] is activated by swiping from right to left on or near the path indicated by the arrow. A space symbol is entered when such a swipe is detected.
  • the other keys in the keyboard [200] in this illustrative non-limiting example perform exactly as they would in prior-art keyboard.
  • keyboards comprising swipe-switches and relatively few keys may nonetheless incorporate all the functionality and more of traditional keyboards, or other traditional devices, in an entirely unexpectedly easy-to-use way.
  • a keyboard could even be created in which all functions performed in traditional keyboards by traditional switches could be performed by swipe-switches, either acting alone or in combination with keys and/or other swipe-switches.
  • An illustrative keyboard comprising a swipe-switch overlapping to the key area
  • Fig. 3 we see an illustration of how, according to the teachings of this aspect hereby disclosed, the area of a keyboard comprising a swipe- switch can be reduced.
  • the entire surface the keyboard [300] is sensitive to swipes in the upwards direction, as indicated by the arrow [301], as well as to downward presses or touches on the keys. Mechanically, this can be accomplished by a variety of means, such as fabricating the keyboard
  • the keys might be mechanical switches, displacably responsive to downwards force on their surface, while the surfaces of the keys are themselves touchpads or touchscreens, responsive to swipes. If the swipe- switch is used to perform the action of entering a space symbol into text, and the keys in keyboard [300] perform in the same way as the keys in keyboard [200], then the embodiment of Fig. 3 performs the same functions as the embodiment of Fig. 2, but does so in a device of smaller area.
  • An illustrative keyboard comprising two different types of swipe-switches overlapping the key area
  • a keyboard [400] comprising two swipe-switches, each responsive to a different kind of swipe.
  • the first swipe-switch is responsive to upwards swipes across the entire surface of the keyboard [400], as indicated by the arrow [401].
  • the second swipe- switch is responsive to closed circular swipes in a clockwise direction at any location on the entire surface of the keyboard, indicated by the closed circle [402].
  • These two swipe-switches [401-402] can be used to perform keyboard functions.
  • the swipe [401] could be used to enter the space symbol, as in the embodiment of Fig.
  • Fig. 4 could be built in the same physical substrata as the embodiment of Fig. 3, provided that the mechanism is capable of distinguishing the two types of swipes.
  • An illustrative keyboard comprising a plurality of swipe-switches of the same type overlapping the key area
  • FIG. 5 we see an illustrative embodiment comprising a keyboard [500] comprising three swipe-switches all of the same type, namely, all responsive to upwards swipes.
  • the three swipe-switches are indicated by the arrows
  • swipe-switches are available to represent keyboard functions traditionally performed by keys, such as entering specified symbols, or changing the function of the normal keys.
  • An illustrative keyboard comprising several pluralities of swipe-switches of different types
  • Fig. 6 we see an illustrative embodiment comprising a keyboard [600] comprising swipe-switches of a plurality of different types, with a plurality of swipe-switches of a given type.
  • a keyboard [600] comprising swipe-switches of a plurality of different types, with a plurality of swipe-switches of a given type.
  • FIG. 6 there are, for illustration, three different types of swipe-switches, those responsive to upwards swipes indicated by the upwards arrows [601-603], those responsive to closed circular swipes [604-605], and those response to up-left swipes [606-608]. Since there are multiple types of swipe-switches and multiple instances of each type, the activation mechanism must both a) determine which type of swipe has been made, and b) determine which swipe- switch of the determined type was intended to be activated by the user.
  • the determinations are made in that order, that is, first determine type, and then determine which of that type.
  • the swipe-switches are used to replace functions normally performed by keys (switches), for non-limiting example entry of symbols, or changing the symbol set input by the regular keys.
  • the number of types of swipes, and number of instances of swipe-switches of each type is limited only by the ability of the activation mechanism to make its determinations in normal use. These parameters (maximum number of types and maximum number of instances of each type) are a function of aspects of the physical substrate in which this embodiment is implemented, its overall size, sensitivity, computing power, and so on.
  • swipe-switches With standard present-day technology, such as touchscreen technology, the total number of swipe-switches which can be reasonably implemented rivals or exceeds the number of standard keys which can be reasonably implemented in the same device. Especially since some of these swipe- switches can be used to change the function of the regular keys, the total number of symbols which can be input, or functions which can be performed with just a swipe and a keypress is many times greater than can be performed by just keypresses in a keyboard without swipe-switches.
  • An illustrative keyboard comprising swipe-switches at the border of the keyboard
  • swipe- switches may be disposed on the border of a key array, or otherwise surround a plurality of keys. This disposition of swipe-switches may have the advantage of making the swipe-switches easier to find and operate.
  • the keyboard [700] has bi- directional swipe-switches [701-704] on each of its borders.
  • the bi-directional swipe- switches perform the same function whether they are swiped right-to-left or left-to- right in the case of horizontal swipe-switches [701] and [703], or up or down in the case of vertical swipe-switches [702] and [704] .
  • Swipe-switches on the border of, and in the same plane as a keyboard are easy to locate, and, in this illustrative non-limiting example, making the swipe-switches bi-directional makes it more likely that they can be activated easily and quickly independently of the immediately preceding gesture executed by the user.
  • Border swipe-switches need not be in the same plane as the keyboard to which they pertain. For instance, a 3 -dimensional device with several faces could have a keyboard on a first face, and swipe-switches along the faces adjacent to the first face, as shown in Fig. 7 where the arrows are considered to be on the adjacent faces.
  • An illustrative keyboard comprising swipe-switches between rows and columns of keys and within rows and columns of keys
  • a linear swipe may have a preferred location between rows or columns, or within a row or column.
  • the keyboard [800] comprises four swipe-switches, two vertical
  • swipe-switches [801] and [804] are in phase in that their preferred locations align with a column or row respectively, while swipe-switches [802] and [803] are out of phase in the sense that their preferred swipe location is between columns or rows, respectively.
  • placing the preferred location of a swipe in a easily recognizable position with respect to a key array may contribute to the usability of the device. While in the embodiment of Fig. 7, the easily recognizable locations was at the border of the key array, in the embodiment of Fig. 8, the easily recognizable locations are along rows or columns or between rows or columns.
  • the embodiments of Fig 7. and Fig 8. could be combined with swipe-switches both at borders and between or on rows and/or columns. Such an embodiment could further comprise swipe-switches with no particular geometric relationship with the key array.
  • An illustrative keyboard comprising multiple swipe-switches used in conjunction
  • swipe-switches may be used in combination, activated simultaneously or sequentially to represent actions distinct from the actions represented from the actions associated with each swipe- switch individually.
  • swipe-switches are combined in this way, the number of actions they can perform increases exponentially.
  • a keyboard [900] comprising three swipe- switches with parallel preferred locations [901-903].
  • Each of these swipe-switches performs a function when swiped individually.
  • F 1 , F 2 , F 3 respectively for [901-903].
  • F 12 , F 13 , F 23 and F 123 When they are combined by being simultaneously swiped, they give access to a number of new functions, namely, F 12 , F 13 , F 23 and F 123 .
  • the swipe-switches are used to change the state of the keyboard, and/or other swipe-switches, then the number of accessible new functions increases still further, as the swipes can be used not only simultaneously, but sequentially. For instance, the result of swiping along [901] might be to change the function F 2 of swipe-switch
  • swipe-switches exchanges more user manipulation for fewer swipe-switches (and/or keys). While it is generally desirable to require as few user manipulations for a given function as possible, it may also be desirable to limit the number of swipe-switches and/or keys due to size or swipe resolution constraints. Many such combinations are discussed in the various embodiments detailed in this disclosure to illustrate the breadth of apparatuses and methods taught herein.
  • An illustrative keyboard comprising a swipe-switch-hold control
  • a swipe-switch-hold control comprises a swipe-switch and a switch, where the function of the switch is to continue (hold) any action or state initiated by the swipe-switch.
  • the holding is preferably accomplished as part of the same gesture as the swiping, thus it is advantageous to locate the hold switch such that it can be activated in a physical continuation of the swipe gesture.
  • a single finger or thumb is used to perform the swipe, for instance, it is preferable to place the hold switch in the same area, or an adjacent area as the area in which the swipe-switch is activated. If two fingers are used to perform the swipe-switch-hold, the swipe can be performed by one finger and the hold by another, so that the swipe area and the hold area need not be contiguous or overlapping.
  • swipe-switch-hold designed to be used by a single finger
  • the keyboard [1000] comprises a swipe-switch, indicated by [1001] and a hold switch [1002], where [1001] and [1002] taken together comprise a swipe-switch-hold control.
  • the purpose of the hold-switch [1002] is to continue the action of the most-recent activation of the swipe-switch [1001].
  • the swipe-switch [1001] and the hold-switch [1002] are arranged so that a single gesture can activate both: a swipe, e.g.
  • swipe-switch- hold of Fig. 10 could be used to perform any keyboard action, such as changing the function of the keyboard [1000] from use for entered letter to use for entering digits.
  • the hold-switch [1002] need not be limited to only serving as the hold portion of the swipe-switch-hold. It could also perform other keyboard functions, such as entering a symbol, when the swipe-switch [1001] has not been activated in the immediate previous. It is also to be noted that the region sensitive to swipes and the region sensitive to holding could overlap, though they are not identical. While in a normal switch the activation region and the hold region are necessarily identical, this is not the case for a swipe-switch-hold. 0 041979
  • An illustrative keyboard comprising swipe-switches which emulates a full desktop keyboard
  • a keyboard comprising swipe-switches may be made at least as versatile and powerful as a traditional desktop keyboard, though with fewer keys, and thus, for equal key size, occupying less space.
  • a keyboard performing all of the most commonly used functions of a common desktop Qwerty keyboard for the Latin script. It is to be noted that while we may, for the sake of clarity, make remarks in this disclosure in reference to the Latin script, nothing is meant to limit to the Latin script.
  • conventional or unconventional typewriter keyboards other than Qwerty, and/or for scripts other than Latin, or even unconventional keyboards for arbitrary symbol sets, when combined with swipe- switches performing keyboard actions are within the scope of this disclosure.
  • we will point out and particularly describe some additional novel features and aspects.
  • a typical desktop keyboard has a variety of meta keys which, when combined with keys for entering letters and/or digits, cause the input of less common symbols or cause various actions.
  • These meta keys may be called by various names such as “meta” “escape” “alt” “apple” “windows” “function” “control” “shift” and so on.
  • the key sequence control-c is used to copy selected text to a clipboard
  • control-v is used to paste the clipboard text into a selected text.
  • Meta keys are often used in combination to perform still more functions. For instance, control-alt-delete may cause the reboot of a computer running Microsoft Windows.
  • the typical desktop keyboard also has a variety of locks, such as Caps-lock and Num-lock, which toggle a change in the function of the other keys. For instance, when Caps-lock is set, uppercase rather than lowercase letters are entered by the letter keys.
  • locks such as Caps-lock and Num-lock
  • the typical desktop keyboard may also contain auxiliary arrays of still other keys, performing functions such as page-up and page-down, or user-programmable function keys, or keys to launch specific programs, and so on.
  • Fig. 11 we illustrate how all of this traditional keyboard behavior can be captured in a compact keyboard comprising swipe-switches.
  • the keyboard [1100] of Fig. 11 comprises an array of linear, vertically oriented swipe- switches [1101-1106] regularly spaced with two columns of keys between them, another array of horizontal swipe-switches [1107-1110], two hold areas [1111-1112] for forming swipe-switch-hold controls, and a touch-sensitive text display [1113].
  • the display [1113] is shown schematically as separated by some distance from the keyboard [HOO]. Since, as we will see more clearly below, the display [1113] is meant to be used as the hold area for various swipe-switch-hold controls, it is best placed near to the keyboard [1100] so that swipes begun on the keyboard can continue smoothly into the hold area [1111] comprising the display [1113].
  • a Qwerty keyboard occupies 10 columns and 3 rows of keys. If we are to embed the Qwerty keyboard in a full, regular array of keys, we need 30 keys, as shown at [HOO]. Since there are only 26 letters in the Qwerty arrangement, some of these keys can be used for other functions and symbol entry, such as carriage return, entry of punctuation symbols such as period, comma, and apostrophe. Similar remarks pertain to typewriter layouts other than Qwerty, e.g. for other scripts and languages.
  • the four horizontal swipe-switches [1107-1110] will be used as lockable and holdable meta keys.
  • a lockable and holdable meta key performs some meta function, such as "control", and can be either locked or held depending on the direction of the swipe.
  • swipe-switches [1107-1108] are associated to the hold area [1111] and the swipe-switches [1109-1110] are associated to the hold area [1112].
  • swipe-switches [1107-1110] are swiped towards the center of the keyboard along their preferred path and then held, they act as swipe-switch-hold controls for the corresponding meta-function.
  • the corresponding meta-function is locked. Locks can be accumulated by locking more than one meta-function simultaneously or in sequence. Swiping any lock a second time unlocks it, and all other currently locked meta-functions.
  • any meta key and any lock key or any combination thereto found on a traditional keyboard can be emulated.
  • one of the horizontal-swipe-switches for instance [1107] is used as a capitalization shift, it could function in the following way: a) swipe along the preferred path toward the center of the keyboard (to the right) without holding: capitalize next letter only, b) swipe along the preferred path toward the center and hold: capitalize all letters until hold is released, c) swipe along the preferred path away from the center of the keyboard (to the left): Caps-lock, d) swipe in either direction when Cap-lock is active: unlock Caps.
  • EOS-lock End Of Sef-lock
  • the EOS lock is applicable not just to capitalization lock, but any mode-changing lock (such as a digit mode, punctuation mode, function mode, etc) in which symbols are entered in the mode.
  • mode-changing lock such as a digit mode, punctuation mode, function mode, etc
  • To make an EOS-lock we define a set of mode symbols, and a disjoint set of end-of-mode symbols. Whenever an end-of-mode symbol is entered, then the lock is terminated. For instance, in the case of capitalization of words in English, we may define the set of mode symbols to be any letter a-z plus apostrophe.
  • EOS- lock When an EOS- lock is set, it will remain set when mode symbols are entered, and end when an end- of-mode symbol is entered. So, here, we can set the capitalization EOS-lock just defined and capitalize a sequence of mode symbols such as FRED'S. If we then enter a space (an EOS-symbol) then the EOS cap-lock will be released.
  • EO S -locks In another non-limiting illustrative example of EO S -locks, consider a telephone number entry mode, which we may assign for non-limiting example to [1108] where the digits 0-1 and the punctuation symbols left parenthesis, right parenthesis, hyphen, plus, and space are taken to be in the mode-symbol set, and anything else is in the EOS symbol set. Then we can set the telephone number mode lock and enter formatted telephone numbers such as +1 (313) 555-1212 without leaving the mode. When an EOS symbol is entered, such as a letter, then the telephone number mode is exited.
  • the EOS-hold is another novel swipe-switch keyboard function herein disclosed.
  • An EOS-hold state begins when a swipe-switch-hold function is activated, and ends when both a) the hold has been released, and b) a symbol from the EOS symbol has been entered.
  • the EOS-hold is useful in any situation where mode symbols normally occur in groups, and we wish for the mode change to apply to complete groups, rather than just individual in-mode symbols or sub-groups of in- mode symbols.
  • a non-limiting example of symbols which normally occur in groups is written English, in which letters (together with apostrophe) normally occur in words.
  • EOS-hold When swiped toward the center and held, it is an EOS-hold, and when swiped away from the center it is an EOS-lock. In the EOS-lock mode it is used to enter a single word into the user dictionary, while in the EOS-hold mode it is used to enter one or more words into the user dictionary. Clearly, when more than one word is entered in EOS-hold, perhaps with EOS symbols interspersed while holding, then some mechanism must be provided to parse the words from the sequence of symbols entered while the EOS-hold state is active.
  • the vertical swipe-switches [1101-1106] of Fig. 11 have not been assigned functions. These are available to create modes to handle other functions typically performed by full desktop keyboards, such as entry of digits (not necessarily part of a telephone number), punctuation, letters in non-Latin scripts, page-up and page-down, user-assigned functions and so on. They may also be used to enter common symbols directly, without passing to an alternate mode. Note that all of the vertical swipe-switches are adjacent to the hold area [1111], so they may be used as components of a swipe-switch-hold control, if desired.
  • the remaining vertical swipe-switches [1103-1106] might, for non-limiting example be used for function, number, punctuation, and Greek script entry, respectively.
  • swipe-switches may be used to reduce the number of regular keys in a keyboard, by taking on the functions of the removed keys.
  • Another way of reducing the number of keys is the use of ambiguous codes, such as is
  • the keyboard [1200] comprises vertical linear swipe-switches at the borders [1201] and [1208], as well as additional vertical swipe-switches between each of the columns [1202-1206]. It has, in additional, two horizontal linear swipe-switches [1207] and [1209].
  • the device incorporates as well a display [1210], which may also be used as a hold area for all of the vertical linear swipe-switches., as well as for text display purposes. It should be noted that a swipe could also be along a given row or column, with a potentially different assignment of function or symbol than a swipe between rows or columns.
  • the ambiguous keyboard labeling of [1200] is an illustrative reduced-qwerty keyboard, where each key press may represent more than one letter.
  • the key in the upper-right corner may input any of the letters q, w, or e when pressed once. Which letter is meant may be determined from context, as will be described in more detail below, and is fully described in the patent documents incorporated by reference herein.
  • This present teachings are not limited to Qwerty, Latin script, non-alphabetic or alphabetic order layouts, 6 columns and/or 3 rows of keys, and generally can be applied much more widely than the specifics illustrated in this didactic embodiment.
  • the keys are organized in groups of two columns each, with a relatively larger space between the groups than between the columns within a group.
  • this provides "negative space” around each of the keys which is shared by keys bordering the negative space, increasing their effective target size.
  • this aspect also provides more flexibility in the mechanical implementation of swipe-switches.
  • the larger between-column space may aid in the use of technologies for swipe-sensitivity that are difficult to use when the keys are very close to each other or abutting. For instance, traditional keys with switches based on domes could be more readily used in conjunction with traditional touchpad technology between the column-groups, allowing swipe-switches and keys to be made contiguous in a low-cost way.
  • swipe-switches may be used not only to change the mode of regular keys, but also of other swipe-switches, increasing their power.
  • We will in this embodiment use the leftmost vertical swipe-switch [1201] to manage the digit layout. Since there are 18 keys and only ten digits 0-9, we can assign all the digits and still have 8 keys left for other symbols and functions. We will use these keys for symbols related to numbers and operations on numbers, such as currency symbols, arithmetic functions, (e.g.
  • this digit mode can be used to enter phone numbers and do rudimentary calculations, as well as address the common use of entering quantities of money.
  • We many add even more than 18 symbols to digit mode by placing more than one symbol on some of the keys in digit mode, and using some disambiguation mechanism, as described more fully below, to disambiguate them. It will be beneficial to use swipe down on [1201] as an EOS-lock and swipe up on [1201] and hold in the display [1210] as an EOS-hold. A swipe up without holding on [1201] will enter a single symbol from digit mode.
  • any symbol which can be entered by a regular key in digit mode will be in the symbol set.
  • punctuation symbols available by assigning them to digit mode.
  • the 18 keys of the present embodiment are sufficient to enter a large number of common punctuation symbols in a first punctuation mode, such as slash, back-slash, parenthesis, colon.
  • a first punctuation mode such as slash, back-slash, parenthesis, colon.
  • switch-switch [1208] for entering the first punctuation mode, and define its actions similarly to the digit-mode switch [1201] described above. It will be defined as an EOS-hold when swiped upwards, and an EOS-lock when swiped upwards. Again, we will include in the symbol set any symbol entered directly by another swipe-switch, and any tapping or swiping motion in the display area [1210].
  • a messaging application may include the codepoint U+263A WHITE SMILING FACE, while a program for playing chess might include chess symbols such as U+265A BLACK CHESS KING.
  • a swipe on [1208] will enter second punctuation mode.
  • alphabetic mode is the "launch point" for digit mode
  • first punctuation mode digit mode is the launch point for second punctuation mode.
  • the behavior of the swipe entering second punctuation mode can be defined similarly to the swipes entering digit mode or first punctuation mode.
  • swipe-switch [1206] for the purpose of capitalization, with swipe down being EOS-lock and swipe up being a regular swipe-switch-hold. A swipe up without holding capitalizes just the next entered letter, if entered immediately before any other mode change.
  • the symbol set and EOS set are defined as described above in reference to Fig. 11. Direct symbol entry using swipe-switches
  • a swipe-switch it is advantageous to enter symbols using a swipe-switch directly, that is, not by using the swipe-switch as an intermediary to change the mode of a regular key or keys.
  • a non-limiting example use is for entry of a symbol which is generally useful regardless of which mode the keys are in.
  • these generally useful symbols are space, backspace, period, comma, exclamation point and question mark. We will arrange it, in particular, such that each of backspace, exclamation point and question mark can not only be entered directly by a swipe-switch, but an arbitrary number of repeats of these symbols can be entered by the corresponding swipe-switch-hold.
  • swipe down on [1203] to enter comma
  • swipe up on [1203] will continue to enter exclamation points, at say 100ms intervals, for as long as the hold is maintained.
  • [1204] enters space on a down swipe and backspace on an up swipe, and repeats of backspace at regular intervals on swipe up and hold in [1210].
  • [1205] enters period (full stop) on swipe down and question mark on swipe up, with repeats at regular intervals as long as a hold is maintained in [1210].
  • Meta keys singly or in combination, possibly software configurable
  • meta key functions can be performed by swipe-switches.
  • the names and assignments of meta- key functions may be software configurable, and that meta keys may be used in combination to obtain more meta modes than could be obtained only using meta keys individually. All of these remarks pertain to the present embodiment as well.
  • this embodiment includes an ambiguous keyboard an additional factor is to be considered: a meta-key + regular key combination may represent more than one function, and a mechanism could be provided to resolve these ambiguities, if any. These ambiguities could, furthermore, be letter layout dependent, and the letter layout itself could change depending on mode. For instance, a meta key may change the layout from a reduced Qwerty layout to a reduced Dvorak layout or a reduced US2010/041979
  • left swipe on [1209] is the meta function "control”
  • right swipe on [1209] is the meta function "alt”
  • left swipe on [1207] is “function”
  • right swipe on [1207] is “escape”.
  • the software may define "control-q” to mean “quit”, “control- w” to mean “write”, and "control-e” to mean “edit”.
  • control-q to mean "quit”
  • control-w to mean "write”
  • control-e to mean "edit”.
  • ambiguous keyboards in which a given sequence of keyboard actions may correspond to multiple symbols, need some mechanism for disambiguation.
  • Such disambiguation mechanisms typically depend on software to determine what the user meant depending on context.
  • Disambiguation may be combined with anticipation systems, which attempt not only to disambiguate what the user has already typed, but to predict what they intend to type next: attempting to complete a word or even a phrase before the user performs any actions to specify their next intent. Both disambiguation and anticipation may vary in aggressiveness, from attempting to disambiguate or anticipate a single key press, an entire word, or a sequence of words.
  • the word-wise disambiguation mode presents the most-likely word corresponding to a keystroke sequence to the user first, and then allows alternates, if any, to be chosen. For instance, if the (hjk,i, m) keys are pressed in succession, the system will propose the interpretation "him", which will most often be the correct choice. When there are alternates available, the word may be displayed in a distinctive font, a bell may be rung, or some other method used to signal the user that alternatives are available. When there are alternatives, the user may "Next" through the alternatives in some manner. Here, for illustration, we will use a tap on [1210] to indicate "Next".
  • a keyboard comprising a swipe-switch may provide no sensory information as properties of the swipe-switches it contains, such as their location, type of swipe, or direction of swipe. There may be no sensory feedback when a swipe-switch has been activated. The user may simply learn that performing a given type of swipe in a given way activates a certain swipe-switch. However, it may be desirable to provide sensory, (such as visual, auditory, and/or tactile) for swipe-switch properties, such as location, type of swipe, and/or direction of swipe, as well as sensory feedback for when and how a swipe-switch has been activated.
  • sensory such as visual, auditory, and/or tactile
  • FIG. 13 An illustrative non-limiting example is shown in Fig. 13. Here a keyboard
  • [1300] comprises two swipe-switch-hold controls [1301] and [1302] each of which performs some keyboard function.
  • the "hold” part of both controls is set to be the display screen [1303].
  • the keyboard is configured such that it will return to letter mode after a digit is selected, unless the swipe is held in the display screen [1303], in which case the keyboard will continue to input digits as long as the swipe is held.
  • the keyboard [1300] switches from inputting lowercase letters to uppercase letters.
  • the keyboard is configured such that it will return to lowercase letter mode after a uppercase letter is selected, unless the swipe is held in the display screen [1303], in which case the keyboard will continue to input uppercase letters as long as the swipe is held.
  • each of the swipe-switch-hold controls [1301] and [1302] are visually marked by a distinct color (shown in Fig. 13 as hatch patterns). These markings guide the user to swipe in the correct place to perform the desired action.
  • the hold portion of the swipe-switch-hold control is also colored in the same way as the swipe portion, for as long as the swipe is held.
  • Fig. 13 shows the state of the device when [1302] has been swiping, and holding is continuing in the display screen [1303]. If the other swipe-switch-hold control [1301] had been activated, then the display screen [1303] would take on the color associated with
  • Fig. 13 is meant merely as an illustrative non-limiting example of how sensory signals may be associated with swipe-switches. It will be appreciated that other kinds of swipe-switches might call for other kinds of visual labeling and further appreciated that auditory or tactile markings could be used as well, in addition or instead of the visual markings. For instance, a swipe-switch-hold could emit a sound when swiped, a different sound when held, and a third sound when released. Different swipe- switches could be associated with different sound patterns, making them operable by the blind.
  • An embossed ridge or roughening of the surface could be used as a tactile marking of the swipe region, and so on in ways a person skilled in the art will appreciate, and all such sensory markings are enabled within the scope of the present detailed description.
  • An ipod controller enhanced with swipe-switches could be used as a tactile marking of the swipe region, and so on in ways a person skilled in the art will appreciate, and all such sensory markings are enabled within the scope of the present detailed description.
  • Fig. 14 we present an illustrative embodiment which demonstrates that the present disclosure describes not only conventional typewriter keyboards and not only standard rectangular arrays of keys. It further emphasizes that swipe-switches need not be based only on simple linear swipes.
  • This present illustrative embodiment is an enhancement of the controller typically found on devices trademarked under the name of ipod by the Apple Corporation.
  • the ipod controller comprises a swipe control [1400] and an array of 5 buttons [1401-1405].
  • the ipod controller is enhanced by the addition of one or more swipe-switches, e.g.
  • swipe-switch [1406] which is inserted between the central button [1401] and the swipe control [1400] and the circular swipe-switch [1407] which surrounds the swipe control [1400].
  • one of the uses of swipe-switches taught by the present embodiment is to enter a symbol or create an event, and another is to change the function of other controls such as regular switches.
  • symbol entry or event creation one could use, for non-limiting example the swipe-switch [1406] to mute the sound when swiped clockwise, and to unmute when swiped counter-clockwise.
  • Other potentially useful events of this nature include zooming or unzooming of the display, or locking or unlocking the keyboard.
  • swipe-switches [1406] and [1407] could be used to change the function of the swipe control [1400] and/or one or more of the 5 buttons [1401-1405].
  • one of the swipe-switches [1406] and/or [1407] could change the function of the 5 buttons [1401-1405] so that they may be used for text entry, for instance according to the teachings of the '317 patent, hereby incorporated by reference.
  • 4 or 5 keys alone are shown to be sufficient for high quality text entry.
  • swipe-switches [1406] and/or [1407] could also change the function of the swipe control [1400].
  • the swipe control [1400] changes function according to mode, the available modes being cycled through by repeated presses of the central button [1401]. E.g. in one mode the swipe control is used to adjust the volume, in another to variably fast-forward or rewind the current musical selection. These repeated presses could be eliminated for some modes, since the swipe-switches could give direct access to the modes.
  • An ipod controller enhanced with swipe-switches, and with text entry capability
  • Fig. 15 we present an enhanced ipod controller with swipe- switches and text-entry capability.
  • the elements [1500-1507] have equivalent functions to their counterparts in the embodiment of Fig. 14.
  • [1500] is a swipe control
  • [1501-1505] are buttons
  • [1506-1507] are swipe-switches.
  • buttons [1508-1511] for the entry of letters A-Z.
  • buttons may overlap with the various swipe controls and swipe-switches, in that a press anywhere on the surface may be associated to one of the buttons, either the original set of 5 buttons [1501-1505] and/or the set of text-entry buttons [1508-
  • buttons [1508] are shown by the dashed line [1512].
  • the area [1512] is set so that it is as large as possible, while allowing the other buttons to be activated also.
  • the buttons [1509- 1511] have similar receptive fields for key presses, which, for the sake of readability of the figure, are not shown.
  • each letter is input by a combination of two keypresses, using a multi-level ambiguous code.
  • a press of the button [1508] could mean any of the letters A-F
  • a press of the button [1509] could mean any of the letters G-L, and so on.
  • FIG. 16 it is shown how the second key press serves to further indicate which letter the user intends to enter.
  • the panels of Fig. 16, namely , 16A-16D show the letter assignments after pressing the buttons [1508-1511] respectively. For instance, after [1508] is pressed a first time, the letters A-F are distributed over the buttons [1508-1511] as shown in Fig 16 A. Now, if the user desires to input the letter F, they would press button [1510]. If, instead, they desired to input the letter E, they would press button
  • any of the letters A-Z can be input using two key presses, the first to select a large group of letters, and the second to select a smaller group from the first-selected large group.
  • buttons [1501-1505] to be available for input at the same time as the buttons [1508-1511], as well as the swipe- switches [1506-1507], and the swipe control [1500], any or all of these could be used to perform other text entry functions, such as entry of digits and punctuation, and/or to change the symbol assignments to [1508-1511] for further enhanced text entry.
  • this embodiment is not limited to text entry in the Latin alphabet, and could be used to enter any subset of Unicode, nor is it limited to the use of an ambiguous code, or four buttons for text input.
  • this present embodiment comprises a fixed set of localized swipe-switches, with variable keyboard arrays.
  • One of the keyboard arrays used in this embodiment is the keyboard array we have already seen from Fig. 12, the keyboard array [1200].
  • Fig. 12 also showed a set of localized swipe-switches, namely
  • FIG. 17 we see these previous elements combined with two new keyboard arrays [1700-1701].
  • the keyboard arrays [1200], [1700] and [1701] have different numbers of rows and/or columns, and different letter-to-key assignments, yet the array of swipe-switches is the same and used by all.
  • [1200] has 6 columns and three rows of keys with a Qwerty layout
  • [1700] has three rows and three columns of keys with a Qwerty layout (Fig.
  • [1701] has two rows and two columns of keys, with an alphabetic order layout, and operates in the way described in reference to Figs. 15 and 16 (Fig. 17B).
  • the user could switch between these keyboard arrays as desired. Since the various keyboard arrays differ, but the keyboard arrays change, at least some of the spatial relationships between localized swipe-switches and keys must change as the keyboard array changes.
  • Fig. 19 we see an overview of a method for using a keyboard comprising swipe-switches.
  • the method to be applied by the user is to determine, at step [1900] whether the keyboard action desired to be performed is implemented as a key or a swipe-switch. If it is determined to be implemented as a key, then, at step [1900]
  • step [1901] the key is pressed, and the user returns to step [1900] in reference to the next intended keyboard action. If it is determined to be implemented as a swipe-switch, then the user performs, at step [1902] a swipe with the intention that it be classified as a swipe associated to the swipe-switch implemented the intended keyboard action, they then return to [1900] in reference to the next intended keyboard action.
  • FIG. 20 we see a broad overview of the operation of an apparatus comprising a keyboard comprising swipe-switches.
  • a keyboard comprising swipe-switches.
  • [2000] mechanical or electro-mechanical sensors detect user input.
  • the sensors might be switches, such as keys detecting key presses, or swipe-switches detecting swipes.
  • the input is classified [2001] as a switch action or a swipe by appropriate circuitry. If the input is classified as a switch, then [2002] the apparatus performs the required action, which could be e.g. the output of a symbol for display or a change of state of some part of the apparatus. If the input is classified as a swipe, then further processing is performed to classify the swipe by type and/or location. Then, [2003], given that the input was a swipe and has been classified as associated to a given swipe-switch, the associated swipe-switch is activated.
  • the activated swipe-switch may have been a swipe-switch-hold or swipe-switch-lock, in which case the state of the hold or lock must be polled at some interval to determine if it is still active [2004], depending on the nature of the swipe-switch action, output may continue for as long as a swipe- ending condition is not detected. Finally, at [2005], further output may occur when a swipe-ending condition is detected.
  • the hardware comprises an input device [2100] as described in the present disclosure, various computer processors, memory, and software [2101] to transform input for human-readable output, configured according to the teachings and aspects of the present disclosure, and [2102] computerized sensory output producing human- readable output as a function of the input device [2100].
  • Specification such as an activation mechanism, can be integrated within one or more of these elements, such as found in FIG. 5 or FIG. 23, or other FIGs. of the present Specification.
  • a method for manufacturing a keyboard comprising swipe-switches
  • Fig. 22 teaches a method for manufacturing a keyboard comprising swipe-switches.
  • the manufacturer begins at step [2200] by obtaining sensor components capable of sensing swipes of all types of swipes called for in a keyboard design which they wish to manufacture. If the design contains regular switches, these should also be sourced at this step.
  • the manufacturer may then obtain, at step [2201] classifiers capable of classifying all swipes called for in the keyboard design, and sensed by the sensors obtained at step
  • FIG. 23 teaches a further embodiment of a keyboard system 2300.
  • first ideal form 2315 and second ideal form 2317 are inverse square or cube law attractive force between two lines, such as first ideal form 2315 and second ideal form 2317, regarding 1) the actual swipe, such as motion 2313, 2) each of the ideal forms to which the actual swipe might correspond, such as ideal form 2315 and second ideal form 2317 as determined by an activation mechanism 2305, and to then calculate the swipe that was intended by a user on a keyboard 2310.
  • first ideal form 2315 could be a single swipe in an upwards direction in a part of the keyboard
  • the second ideal form 2317 could be a circular motion in a different part of the keyboard.
  • Activation mechanism 2305 can be coupled and employed with various elements of FIG. 21.
  • the attractive force may be integrated over the curves of actual swipe and ideal swipes, and the ideal form with the greatest attraction is chosen.
  • Such attractive forces are familiar to those skilled in the art of physics, and variations to a full line integral will be appreciated by those skilled in the art.
  • the attraction function could be augmented with thresholds in length, diameter, direction or other parameters to make the "capture" of an actual swipe such as motion 2313 by the ideal for which the user intended to be most likely, and to increase the discrimination between ideal forms.
  • the details will depend on the actual resolution and sensitivity of hardware, the number of ideal forms, their similarity to each other, and so on.
  • the detailed engineering of the attraction will, in general, need to take these aspects into account.
  • buttons for the entry of text comprising letters A-Z
  • swipe-switches for the entry of symbols and mode changing.
  • the buttons may overlap with the various swipe controls and swipe-switches.
  • the swipe switches may have a visual or auditory representation, or none at all. For didactic purposes, they are represented in Fig. 24 as dotted open arrows along the preferred direction of swipe. For the sake of this illustrative example, the ideal forms of these swipe switches are linear, either vertically [2405-2409] or horizontally [2410-2412] oriented.
  • swipe switches could be swipe and hold switches.
  • An illustrative non-limiting example assignment of swipes to functions or symbols is as follows: digit mode [2405], letter-by-letter text entry mode [2406], space (upwards swipe) /backspace (downwards swipe) [2407], capitalization [2408], punctuation mode [2409], period/comma (for rightwards and leftwards swipe respectively) [2410], space/backspace [2411], and exclamation point/question mark [2412].
  • FIG. 25 represents a multi-level text input system, as described above in detail for the corresponding buttons of Fig. 15. That is, to enter a letter, first the required button from the set [2401-2404] is pressed, then the letters from that button are redistributed over the four buttons, and the same letter is selected again. As already mentioned, this two-sequential-stroke system allows 4 buttons to behave as if they were 16 buttons, resulting in low ambiguity text entry.
  • Fig. 25 we see a non-limiting illustrative embodiment of a text entry system which is the same as that of Fig. 24, except that the letter S has been moved from the 4th button [2504] to the 3rd button [2503].
  • buttons [2501-2504] and swipe switches [2505-2512] illustratively operate in the same way as their counterparts of Fig. 24.
  • the advantage of placing S on the 4th key is to reduce ambiguity, while the advantage of placing S on the 3rd key, as is done in Fig. 25, is to align this keyboard with the standard telephone keypad for the Latin alphabet.
  • the mapping from telephone keypad to the buttons of Fig. 25 is by pairs: abc, def map to [2501], and so on to the pair tuv, wxyz mapping to [2504].
  • Fig. 25 is merely an illustrative example of mapping of telephone keys to buttons according to this aspect of this invention, and many variations are possible within the scope of the appended claims.
  • a standard telephone keypad for a different script e.g.
  • Cyrillic would have a different mapping of telephone keys to the buttons [2501-2504] according to this aspect of this invention. Even standard telephone keypads with writing symbols assigned to more than 8 keys (e.g. the standard telephone keypad for Japanese) could be handled within the present scope: some of the buttons [2501-2504] could map to more than two telephone keypad keys.
  • FIG. 26 Turning now to Fig. 26 we see a further alternate embodiment of a A- button keyboard.
  • the keyboard of Fig. 26, like those of Figs 24-25 could comprise swipe switches as well, however, for the sake of readability, these have been excluded from Fig. 26.
  • the buttons of Fig. 26 [2601-2604] may be operated one at a time, or several buttons pressed substantially simultaneously. When several buttons are pressed substantially simultaneously, the input symbols are generally different from the symbols input when the buttons are individually pressed or pressed in sequence.
  • Fig. 26 As a non-limiting illustrative example of this single/multiple-simultaneous- press embodiment, Fig.
  • buttons 2601 and 2604 are input by pressing the buttons 2601 and 2604 substantially simultaneously.
  • the action of pressing two buttons substantially simultaneously is represented by a dotted oval crossing the relevant buttons, so that for instance mno are input using the action 2605.
  • the letters pqrs are input using action 2606 which represents substantially simultaneous pressing of [2501-2502]
  • the letters tuv are input by action 2607 linking 2603 and 2604
  • the letters wxyz are input by action 2608 linking 2602 and 2604.
  • the assignment of letters to buttons need not follow the assignment of letters to keys on a standard telephone keypad to remain within the scope of this aspect of the invention, and if following a telephone keypad convention, need not be the telephone keypad convention for the Latin script. There are many telephone keypad standards for different scripts, and this aspect could be used with each of them.
  • Fig. 2701 represents is a single button
  • 2706 represents the substantially simultaneous pressing of two buttons.
  • the digits 2-9 are assigned to elements 2701-2708 respectively.
  • This non-limiting example assignment was chosen to make the digit assignment correspond to the letter assignment of Fig. 26, and thus to further correspond to the assignment of the telephone keypad for Latin script.
  • Other assignments are clearly possible within the scope of this aspect of this invention, and digits from other scripts would be differently assigned according to the teachings of Fig. 27, and may or may not follow the letter/digit assignment of the corresponding telephone keypad.
  • Fig. 28 we see an illustrative non-limiting example of an assignment of punctuation for the single/multi press aspect of the present invention.
  • the punctuation symbols are assigned such that their shape corresponds as well as possible to the shapes of the digits in the corresponding digit mode, that is, morphic similarity, as is described in US patent application 10/415,031 hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
  • the symbol ? resembles in shape the digit 2, and so is assigned to 2801
  • the symbols % and & resemble the digit 3 and so are assigned to 2802
  • so is assigned to 2803
  • the symbols - and + resemble (part of) digit 5, and so are assigned to 2804.
  • the symbols [ ⁇ all resemble the digit 6 so assigned to 2805, the symbols / ⁇ and ⁇ resemble the digit 7 (possibly with reflection), and so are assigned to 2806, the symbols : and ; resemble the digit 8 and so are assigned to 2807, @ and * resemble the digit 0 and so are assigned to 2809, and finally ! and
  • the # sign is additionally assigned to 2810 to complete the assignment of all punctuation symbols found on a standard telephone keypad to this illustrative punctuation mode.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
  • Human Computer Interaction (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Input From Keyboards Or The Like (AREA)

Abstract

La présente invention concerne un clavier ambigu comprenant au moins deux commutateurs pour exécuter des actions de clavier, au moins un des deux commutateurs étant un commutateur de balayage. Le commutateur de balayage peut modifier au moins une caractéristique sélectionnée parmi un groupe comprenant : a) une fonction d'au moins un commutateur parmi les deux commutateurs ou plus du clavier ambigu ; et b) un mode d'un second commutateur de balayage du clavier ambigu.
PCT/US2010/041979 2009-07-14 2010-07-14 Clavier comprenant des commutateurs de balayage exécutant des actions de clavier WO2011008861A2 (fr)

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US13/384,314 US9189156B2 (en) 2009-07-14 2010-07-14 Keyboard comprising swipe-switches performing keyboard actions
US29/411,834 USD706296S1 (en) 2010-07-14 2012-01-26 Display screen with graphical user interface

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US27084309P 2009-07-14 2009-07-14
US61/270,843 2009-07-14

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US13/384,314 A-371-Of-International US9189156B2 (en) 2009-07-14 2010-07-14 Keyboard comprising swipe-switches performing keyboard actions
US29/411,834 Continuation-In-Part USD706296S1 (en) 2010-07-14 2012-01-26 Display screen with graphical user interface

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